In a Word: Xenosaga
by Fairady
Summary: Various drabbles for Xenosaga.
1. Scars

Disclaimer: I don't own or make any money off of these characters. They belong solely to others whom I worship. 

Warnings: Spoilers for the games perhaps, drabble.

Notes: A series of drabbles connected with When the Dust Settles. None of these could fit in with the fic itself but there are too many of them to ignore.

In a word: Scars  
by fairady

* * *

There are scars on his hand. It's very faint and you can only really see it if you know they're there, or if you compare both of his hands together. Then you can see how one hand is smoother than the other. It's the only part of Allen's body that hasn't completely recovered from the explosion.

Not even nano treatments can fix everything.

That hand is a little stiffer and clumsier than his other. It's normally not very noticable, but on days that he is tired and worn out it becomes more emphasised. Sometimes it starts to shake for no reason, and nothing he does will make it stop. So he'll just sit and watch it tremble until it stops on it's own.

He should probably see a doctor about it, or at least speak to Jin. He always adds it to his list of things to do. Right after he finishes that report.

It's not like there's something wrong with him. He's prefectly fine and it doesn't detract that much from his performance. So its not something that needs to be fixed. It's like a nervous tic or something. Nothing to be worried about.

That's why he hides it from everyone. Shoves his hands in his pockets or keeps them moving so the shaking is less noticeable. There's nothing wrong with him, but they'd still worry and they've already worried more than enough on his part.

There's nothing wrong with him. Really, there isn't.


	2. Inadequate

Disclaimer: I don't own or make any money off of these characters. They belong solely to others whom I worship. 

Warnings: Spoilers for the games perhaps, drabble.

Notes: Another drabble for When the Dust Settles. The opening line is bad and gives bad thoughts but there is nothing to replace it. I actually thought about putting this in the fic but changed my mind later.

In a word: Inadequate  
by fairady

* * *

Ziggurat 8 has no living flesh below his chest. It was all converted to metal decades earlier. Each part had been specially crafted and tuned to make him the perfect combatant. He was as fast and strong as anything could possibly be.

Ziggy didn't think it was fast or strong enough. He sped through the corridors avoiding crew members who weren't agile enough to get out of his way and strong arming doors that were too slow.

Too slow, too weak.

A woman screamed after he blew past her. A security guard looked at the blood splattered across his chest in horror. A group of mechanics dove out of his way leaving Ziggy an unobstructed path to the tube. He got on and ignored the gasps of the few passengers already on it. One of them had the sense to activate the emergency overide and order the car to proceed to the dock.

Allen shifted and cried out in pain. Ziggy held the engineer as tightly as he dared, but it would be too easy to cause further damage. The car sped towards the dock and waiting emergency craft.

It was too slow.


	3. Archetype

Disclaimer: I don't own or make any money off of these characters. They belong solely to others whom I worship. 

Warnings: Spoilers for the games perhaps, drabble.

Notes: Well I wondered about that incident with the archtype. The way I understood it Shion and Allen were the only survivors of the original team. Never knew if Allen survived because he wasn't there or if he was. So I just took a bit of liberty with it.

In a word: Archetype  
by fairady

* * *

Allen opened his eyes but it was too dark to see anything. He groaned and turned onto his stomach letting his aching head rest on the cold and wet floor. Lightning briefly lit the room up before plunging back into darkness. Allen closed his eyes tightly and whimpered. He didn't want to see anything ever again.

He could hear shouting from outside. He couldn't make out any words and the voice wasn't familiar to him. It was all cut short with a sickening crunch. Allen kept his eyes shut. He didn't want to see, he didn't want to know what he knew. He didn't want to see theandroid coming to kill him.

A faint sound grabbed his attention. Scratching, like another mouse had gotten into the lab. Reluctantly he opened his eyes. There was just enough light from a broken panel for him to see Shion. She knelt not too far from him trying frantically to open one of the storage compartments. Her nails slid uselessly down the unresposive panel and the tight expression on her face spoke volumes about how close she was to breaking down.

He wanted to remind her that compartment was tricky. That you had open it in an exact certain way. He wanted to tell her but he couldn't. He couldn't move anything, not even his eyelids when warm, stinging rain ran into his eyes. But that was ok, because Shion eventually got it open and took something out. She craddled it to her chest for a bit before unsteadily rising to her feet and moving out of his line of sight.

He knew what it was, he just couldn't remember it. What had they kept in that compartment? It seemed so terribly important, but he just couldn't make himself remember.

Lightning lit the room up again and Allen wished he could close his eyes or turn his head.


	4. Paperwork

Disclaimer: I don't own or make any money off of these characters. They belong solely to others whom I worship. 

Warnings: Plotless drabble with vague spoilers for the game and a bit of coarse language. Uh, ignore the holes? Please?

Notes: Screw it. This'll all just be Xeno drabbles. I've got too many as it is.

In a word: Paperwork  
by fairady

* * *

Paper work was a bitch. It was amazing how much of the damnable stuff could accumulate in a single day of running the Foundation. Well, not so amazing when you considered that the Foundation did take a hell of a lot to run, and thus was usually mired in the stuff. It was just a little surprising how much of all that paper work absolutely needed to be read and signed by one of the directors.

Junior hadn't really noticed it before, having long since made up his mind to avoid as much of the boring work as he possibly could. He'd always preferred the more direct hands on approach and paper work was something he avoided at all costs. Besides, Gaignun had never complained about it before.

He really should've.

Junior leaned back in the seat after signing off on a few dozen more requests for funding. The number of finished documents in the out tray looked pitifully small when compared to the unfinished numbers. If this was what Gaignun considered daily work it was no wonder the man had a desk in his own room. At least that way the bed was handy when you collapsed after a day's worth of work.

Or a week's worth, Junior snorted as he glanced over at the covered lump that was Gaignun. Just because he was behind a week or two on work didn't mean the idiot had to catch up to it all in a day. Not that Gaignun would ever listen to him about anything work related. Well, anything administratively related at least.

Another request for funding. Junior scrolled through it briefly before signing with a flourish. One more down and his wrist felt ready to fall off. "How do you do this every day?"

_Don't press so hard_, the fuzzy thought brushed into his mind as Gaignun pulled the blankets tighter around himself.

"Gee, thanks for the tip," Junior rotated his wrist feeling the bones crack and grind a little. He looked up to see a pair of tired green eyes studying him from a blanket cocoon. Fighting back a snicker he said, "Go to sleep, Gaignun."

_I can't_, the faint thought intruded once again, _you're bitching too loudly_.

"I am not," Junior scowled. He did not bitch.

_Yes, you do_. Gaignun's eyes closed and the thought was as leaden with sleep as it was with humor. _You bitch all the time_.

"Then you should be used to it ya nosy bastard," Junior opened the next grant or whatever the hell else it was.

A gentle nudge that might've been laughter or condensation was his only answer before Gaignun fell asleep again.

"Damn paper work."


	5. Posterity

Disclaimer: I don't own or make any money off of these characters. They belong solely to others whom I worship. 

Warnings: None.

Notes: Drabble challenge for the Xenodrabble community on LJ. Prompt, In hiding / In exile.

In a Word: Posterity  
by fairady

* * *

Allen Ridgeley did not hide under his sheets like a coward.

First off, he was _not_ a coward. So what if he was a little more inclined to listen to his survival instincts than others? There was absolutely nothing wrong with that, and it's not like he's ever run away from danger screaming like a little girl. He simply knows that, when compared to the others, he has no combat skills whatsoever.

Secondly, he did _not_ hide. He was all too aware of exactly how much of a sitting duck he made most days, but he was also quite aware that trying to hide or run wouldn't do him a damn bit of good. Trouble was everywhere and usually came equipped with far better senses than he could ever hope to comprehend.

So, he was not a coward who huddled on his bed under his covers.

"Allen!" The sharp knock came again as Shion grew impatient, "Are you up yet?"

Allen pulled the covers tighter around himself and whimpered. His 'tactical retreat' for the 'preservation of his sanity and stomach lining' wasn't getting off to a good start.

* * *


	6. Uncreative

Disclaimer: I don't own or make money off of Xenosaga. I humbly ask that you not sue me, and please don't make the next game sucky. You're two for two right now, please don't ruin your streak. 

Warnings: Do I get the prize for shortest fic?

Notes: So I'm cheating with my 30Kisses Themes here. I couldn't think of anything to go with theme #17- kHz (kilohertz). Yes, it's four lines. Yes, that is the entirety of the fic. I actually like that this is all there is for it though.

Originality, Thy Name is not Allen  
by fairady

* * *

The AGWS was small and streamlined obviously favoring speed over combat.

"The Kill 'o Hurtz?" Junior repeated with only the slightest betraying upward twitch of his mouth.

"Um, yeah," Allen chuckled sheepishly, "I'm not that creative."

Junior, shaking with suppressed laughter, pulled the engineer's hand up and kissed his knuckles, "Ah, don't worry, you're creative where it counts."

* * *


	7. Allen

Disclaimer: I don't own or make any money off of these characters. They belong solely to others whom I worship. 

Warnings: None.

Notes: One of my entries for the LJ interest challenge. Of course Allen is one of my interests, I'm sure no one is surprised by that.

Allen  
by fairady

* * *

"Sit on it," Tony paused drawing the insult out to it's fullest, "and rotate."

"Uh, why are we doing this again?" Allen shifted on the stool and eyed the path to the exit. Which Tony quite easily blocked.

Tony patiently explained his plan again, "Because you need to learn how to be a little intimidating, and no, standing around and sputtering is not at all threatening."

"I'm sure there are other ways of doing this than insults," Allen sputtered indignantly.

"Yeah sure, but, uh," Tony grinned. "No offense buddy, but they're just not things you could pull off."

"Gee, thanks," Allen groaned setting his head down on the bar.

"No problem man," Tony slapped Allen's nearest shoulder. "Now, repeat after me. Sit on it and rotate."

* * *


	8. Talk

Disclaimer: I don't own or make any money off of these characters. They belong solely to others whom I worship. 

Warnings: Small hint of yaoi that may or may not scar your psyche, but then again, people should realize by now what I like to write.

Notes: Another of my entries for the LJ interest challenge. Continuation of the previous chapter.

Talk  
by fairady

* * *

"-and that's how it started," Tony finished with a flourish. "He's actually not bad once you've broken his dignity down."

Junior grinned looking over at Allen's slumped figure. "So, Tony's taught you to talk dirty?"

Allen scowled and held up a whole lemon, "One more word out of you and I shove this down your throat sideways."

"No, no," Tony quickly corrected. "That's not how it goes. You're supposed to say you'll shove it up-"

"I know how it goes!" Allen yelled.

Tony blinked, "Then why'd you-"

"Because I know him!" Allen threw the lemon at the smirking Junior. "Pervert."

* * *


	9. Intrusion

Disclaimer: I don't own or make any money off of these characters. They belong solely to others whom I worship. 

Warnings: None.

Notes: Another of my entries for the LJ interest challenge. I love Gaignun, I really really do. Well, this is set before the first meeting of Gaignun.

Intrusions  
by fairady

* * *

The Foundation is as close to paradise as they've been able to make it. A respite, a sanctuary, a home.

It's their own world, the one they always dreamed about belonging to in the lab. The glimpses of it they caught from the talk of their keepers and the brief flashes in the encephelon dives. The world they expanded on at night when they were supposed to be asleep.

They have the stunning beaches that Rubedo always wanted, the shadowy forests Nigredo had wanted to wander, and the clear blue waters that Albedo had always talked about.

Gaignun watches the disturbance in the lake just before the Durandal makes its breath taking dock. The Tower bursts from the water creating a miniature rain storm around the outlying area.

He tilts his head back and lets the falling water run down his face. It's beautiful and as perfect as they've been able to make it. The imperfections lie in that the outside world refuses to stay away. Boarding the first shuttle Gaignun wonders what intrusions the outside has seen fit to send along with the Prototype.

* * *


	10. Albedo

Disclaimer: I don't own or make any money off of these characters. They belong solely to others whom I worship. 

Warnings: Bit of a spoiler perhaps?

Notes: Another of my entries for the LJ interest challenge, and another "What the fuck was I thinking!" Albedo is fricking hard to write properly!

Albedo  
by fairady

* * *

Gaignun was dead. The old cat had gone to sleep and just didn't wake up.

Albedo lined the hole with leaves and put Gaignun on top of them. He spread an old and slightly tattered towel on top of him and sat back. None of the tutors had been able to give him a consistent answer on what it was like to be dead, but he was pretty sure Gaignun wouldn't want to have the dirt get onto his fur. The cat had always been very picky about how clean he was.

He wondered if he should wait. A brief whisper to his brothers convinced him otherwise. Rubedo and Nigredo were still in the labs being alternately counseled and monitored over their extreme reactions to Gaignun's death. They'd be at it for hours.

Another thing he hadn't been able to get a consistent answer for was on how to bury something. Albedo had found so many different ceremonies and rituals he hadn't even known where to begin. In the end he'd decided to make it simple and just bury him.

The dirt made a plump mound over Gaignun. Albedo was sure they wouldn't need the marker to find the grave again, but he'd already tied the sticks together so he stuck it at the head of the mound. Rubbing the dirt off his hands he stood, "You were a good cat, Gaignun. I think we're going to miss playing with you. Um, amen?"

Gaignun was buried, there was a marker, and Albedo had said a eulogy. That was everything he was supposed to do. He frowned thoughtfully, sure he'd forgotten something. Flowers? No, Gaignun hated them and always tore them up. What else was there to do?

Mourn. One of the realian combat tutors had informed Albedo that a funeral was just a reason for humans to cry.

Albedo silently stared at the grave. Maybe he should've waited for his brothers, because he didn't feel like crying at all.

* * *


	11. Mad

Disclaimer: I neither own nor make money off of the characters from Star Ocean or DC. I'm merely a bored fan trying to stay sane by writing insane crossovers.

Warnings: None, besides insanity on my part.

Notes: Part of a meme where you order all icons by alphabetization and then write drabbles. Junior and Joker get the pleasure of making acquaintances.

Just Another Mad Man  
by fairady

-

-

"Children shouldn't be seen and not heard," the clown said petulantly from behind the force field.

Junior smirked holstering his guns, "Good thing I'm not then."

"Little Master!" Mary jogged up, slightly out of breath but looking better than she had when he'd last seen her. Amazing how the absence of a bleeding wound could make such a difference. "You got him!"

"Wasn't that hard," Junior turned away from the prisoner who was using one bony finger to poke the barrier. "How's the damage look?"

"It's not that bad," Mary glared at the prisoner. "We got all the injured medical help, and the physical damage is all superficial. It would've been worse if he stayed loose."

"Huh," Junior turned back and frowned. "Find out who he is and how he got here."

"Yes, sir," Mary saluted and walked away.

The strange man laughed. The cackle sent chills up Junior's spine.

-

-


	12. Father

Disclaimer: I don't own or make any money off of these characters. They belong solely to others whom I worship and loathe.

Warnings: None.

Notes: They got the family vibe going, admit it. Allen's just the poor, brow-beaten father who occasionally snaps back. Much to the astonishment of everyone else.

Father Knows  
by Fairady

.

.

The door was in sight. Just a few more feet and Allen would be free. He carefully moved towards it, mind racing as he started to think about the evasive steps he'd need to take after he made it out there. He raised one hand to the touch pad and tensed. Ready to bolt.

"Allen!"

Damn, he'd been so close! Allen turned back to the two women with a poorly hidden wince, "Yes Chief?"

Shion pushed her glasses more securely up her nose and said, "KOS-MOS is being stubborn, you tell her that!"

"Um," Allen eyed the door, it was only a few more inches. He could make it. Maybe.

"Shion," KOS-MOS turned her head to keep both humans in sight, "you are being illogical. I cannot comprehend such human follies."

"'Cannot comprehend!'" Shion snapped back, "More like 'will not comprehend', who do you think I am? I made you, so I know exactly what you're capable of," she turned suddenly and Allen gave up all hope of escape. "Allen! The girl is being too stubborn to deal with. You talk some sense into her."

Right, like that was going to do any good. "Can't we ju-"

KOS-MOS cut in over what Allen was saying, "My orders do not include engineer Allen Ridgely as part of my chain of command."

"-huh?" Allen's jaw dropped. Not in her chain of command? When had that happened? "Now wait a minute..."

"You see!" Shion exclaimed. "She's being deliberatly obtuse."

"I am merely stating-"

"What is it that you-"

"-a fact. You are-"

"-think you're doing!"

"-getting overworked-"

"You can't just go-"

"Now wait a minute!" Two pairs of eyes looked in Allen's direction. Crossing his arms he sternly said, "You're both being illogical and stubborn. Chief, KOS-MOS is only following her orders, there is no need for you to constantly harp on her about that. You know she can't change that so leave her alone. KOS-MOS, the Chief is just worried about you because she doesn't want to see you hurt. Yes, it's illogical, but that's what humans are. If you'd be a bit more forthcoming and less stubborn things would go smoother. Now can you both stop arguing?"

Both women silently stared at each other before reluctantly turning to Allen.

KOS-MOS broke the silence first, "Your comments are noted and are being taken into consideration."

"Oh, I'm sure-" Shion started.

"Chief!" Allen said sharply.

Shion sighed and nodded her head, "Fine."

Allen watched them both leave the room and slumped a little. Never in his life had he felt so much empathy for his father.

.

.


End file.
